Consorting With Vampires
by CaliahAndTauran
Summary: "You can honestly say that the stupidest thing you've ever done was return to the bubble dimension after discovering what inhabited it. People say curiosity killed the cat, and they were fucking right about that. But even though one stupid decision led to your death, and resurrection, you didn't regret a thing."


_**(A/N:**_

 _ **Caliah: Erm *tugs on collar* Yeah it's another one-shot. I know I have, like, three multi-chapters going right now and none of them have been updated in months… but have this for the time being. Oh! The next chapter of Chasing Hearts is almost finished though! So if you've been keeping up with that story, keep an eye out for it. I'm going to try to get Taur on soon so we can finish it! Anyways. This story was created for**_ _ **some-glubbing-nerd on Tumblr, for our Secret Phantom exchange. Happy belated Halloween, and remember kids! Me and Taur do NOT own Homestuck~)**_

"He doesn't have much time left."

Glowing red eyes flash furiously as the dark haired man growls.

"FUCKING DO SOMETHING THEN."

Kanaya hisses in irritation.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me. You _knew_ this would happen eventually, it was only a matter of when."

She takes a deep breath to steady herself.

"If you want to save him, you know what to do. He might end up hating you."

Karkat nods, pushing a frustrated hand through his wild hair.

"I... I'd do anything to save him. I don't care if he hates me. I can't lose him yet."

0o0o0o0o0

 _ **Nine years previously.**_

"Jacket?"

"Yeah."

"Bag?"

"Uh huh."

"Shades."

"Duh."

All these questions were starting to irritate you. You may only be seven, but you knew how to take care of yourself. Besides, it was Halloween night and you just wanted to leave already. Nana Egbert was going to be here any minute with your friends, and if Bro kept asking you questions he was going to make you late! Being late means less candy, and you were determined to fill your bag to the brim this year. The doorbell rings, and you straighten up your knight costume before sprinting to the door. Bro beats you to it though.

"Hey Jane, ready to take this trouble maker off my hands?"

"Hoo hoo, trouble maker is right! Dave dear, are you ready?"

You nod vigorously. Why were adults so sloooow?

"The others kids are in the car-"

Before she could finish her sentence you bolt out the door and clatter down the stairs. You wanted to see everyone else's costumes!

0o0o0o0o0

"A witch, a ghost, and… what are you?"

Jade and John grin, while Rose looks indignant at your question, and swishes the hem of the long white coat she's wearing.

"I'm a therapist."

"If you say so."

She brandishes her clipboard at you, and you draw out your flimsy plastic sword from its flimsy plastic scabbard to defend yourself.

The older woman scolds the both of you, and you immediately cease fighting. Nana has taken the four of you to the richest neighborhood in town. You've been trick-or-treating for about an hour now, and you've already raked up all sorts of sweet loot.

"...they say it's haunted."

You suddenly decide to tune into Jade and John's conversation. They're staring up at an old and large rickety house, surrounded by an intimidating black iron fence. Curtains cover the windows, but an invisible breeze makes them flutter, and you catch dark forms moving about.

"Do you think they have candy?"

John looks at you like you've just admitted to hating apple juice.

"Dave… Who cares if they have candy! It's suppose to be haunted. With ghosts. And monsters."

"That doesn't scare me," you say, crossing your arms stubbornly.

Bro told you there was no such thing. It's probably just some family up on the hill, hoarding all the candy because no one was going to their house to take it! You warily look over at the others, who had moved on from talking about the house to pleading Nana to let them eat some of their candy. Now's your chance! Without looking back, you dash into the shadows towards the rickety house.

0o0o0o0o0

It's easy enough to get past the fence. You're small enough to slip through the bars, and you congratulate yourself on your brilliance. The uphill path up to the house is cracked concrete, adding to the eerie aura of the whole place. Shivers crawl up your spine, and you tell yourself it's the chilly fall air. You are not scared.

You speed up, eager to get back to your friends and show off whatever candy you get from this place. Scrambling up the stairs to the porch, you clear your throat. It's time. Your fist reaches out for the splintered door, hand trembling. From the cold. Definitely the cold.

Before you get the chance to knock the door swings open, blasting you with warm air. A dark figure is towering over you, silhouetted in the doorway. It appears tense at first, but seems to relax as it leans up against the door frame. This action allows the light from inside the house to shine on the figures face.

It's a guy, probably younger than Bro by a few years. There's a frown on his pale face, and the ink black hair framing it only makes him look paler.

"Trick or treat."

"What the fuck."

"Nana says that's a bad word."

The man appears to ignore you and shouts over his shoulder, "KANAYA WHY THE HELL IS THERE A TINY HUMAN IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE.."

Another face pops up in the doorway. Unlike the man she has a kind face, drawn into a look of surprise instead of irritation. She has pale skin as well, making you wonder if they've ever even seen the sun.

She tucks a few strands of chocolate brown hair behind her ear, and steps in front of the man to kneel in front of you.

"Sollux warned us that the borders between realms weaken on certain days of the year. I am going to assume this is one of them."

Her attention turns back to you, her smile warm. Maybe _she'll_ give you candy.

"Hello little one, my name is Kanaya. He is Karkat," she gestures towards the man with messy hair.

"Do you have candy?"

"I am afraid we do not."

You give a huff of disappointment, and turn on your heels.

"That's lame."

You hear a snarl, and someone grabs your shoulder to whip you back around.

"Who're you calling lame, pipsqueak?"

Karkat's bearing down on you with a scowl, and pointed canines gleam white behind his lips. You can't believe that he has the nerve to dress up as a vampire for Halloween, and not even have any candy to pass out. His grip on your shoulders is starting to hurt so you wrench away.

"Bite me!"

You jump back from his grasping hands, proud of your pun like comeback. Racing down the cement pathway,you forget about how uneven it is. Not even a yard away from the house you trip. Sharp, hot, pain sears through your knees, as you collapse in a pile of tin foil armor. Ow, don't cry, ow, don't cry. You peer down at your scraped up knees, and at the sight of blood your eyes start to heat with tears. It was a stupid idea to come up here, and now the mean man was going to come get you and yell at you or hurt you.

"Oh fuck, are you okay?"

While you were down Karkat had swooped to your side. His earlier grumpy demeanor has faded. He looks less scary now, because even though his brows are still furrowed it's with concern rather than anger.

You don't respond to him, but tears start sliding down your cheeks. It _hurts_.

"Argh, I didn't mean to scare you."

He runs a hand through his already frazzled hair and sighs.

"Where'd you come from? I guess I have to take you back to your fucking family."

"Nana and the others were down there," you say with a quivering voice.

You point down the hill to the surrounding neighborhood. In the blink of an eye Karkat picks you up and throws you over his shoulder. You wiggle around with indignation, you aren't a baby!

"Cut it out! I'm trying to get you back to your family, okay? Jesus kid."

He starts jogging down the hill, speeding up to a point where it looks like his feet aren't even touching the ground. Trees and houses pass you in a blur, and when Karkat finally slows down, you can see Nana and your friends in the distance.

"That's them! How did you know?"

"I can smell them on you."

He drops you abruptly, and you land uneasily. Your knees don't hurt as much anymore, but they're still sore. You sniff your arm and wrinkle your nose.

"I can't."

"No shit? I mean, you're just a human."

"You are to," you snap accusingly.

"Dave Elizabeth Strider! There you are!"

Looks like Nana has spotted you. She races over to hug you, and your friends flock around to scold you for leaving them. You turn back to say goodbye to Karkat, but he's nowhere in sight. The last thing he said is echoing in your head, filling you with curiosity.

 _I mean, you're just a human._

0o0o0o0o0

You tell Bro later that night about Karkat and Kanaya. The next day he insists on taking you to their house to apologize for disturbing them, and thank Karkat for bringing you back. He drives you around The Neighborhood for the better part of an hour, but despite how hard you look, the house isn't there. Over the course of a night, The House, as well as the hill it was on, has vanished.

0o0o0o0o0

 _One year later_

"Hey John, can you keep a secret?"

"'Course I can!"

It's been a year since you met Karkat and Kanaya, and been to The House on the hill. It hasn't appeared once since then, but you have a good feeling about tonight. It _has_ to be there. You've been trick or treating for hours, and you've almost reached The Neighborhood. Slipping away is going to be easy as apple pie this year, Mrs. Lalonde is chaperoning.

"I'm going to go looking for The House again."

John gives an exasperated sigh.

"You've been checking just about every week for the past year! Todays not going to be any different."

"You're wrong!"

John just shrugs, and starts walking faster to catch up with the girls. Irritation floods through you, and instead of turning a corner with the rest of them you run across the street in the opposite direction. The House should be close by now.

Sure enough, you turn the next corner and before you is the hill. The house on top of it isn't any less creepy, but you're determined. You wanted answers. Well, you wanted candy too, but you could risk losing some if it got you an answer from Karkat.

 _I mean, you're just a human._

He had acted like he wasn't a human. What was he then? Or was he joking?

Your journey up the hill passes slowly. You're not risking running up it again. Tripping on it last year from running recklessly has earned you a scar. Knee scars are not ironic. (Bro taught you what irony was, and you think it's the greatest thing ever!)

By the time you find yourself in front of the door it's opened for you like last time. They knew you were there without knocking.

"Trick or treat."

"You again?"

Karkat doesn't exactly look angry that you're here. He looks up and down at your costume raising an eyebrow.

"I'm The Doctor."

"Doctors don't wear suits, and they have stethoscopes not sticks."

"It's a _sonic screwdriver_ ", you stress. Who hasn't heard of Doctor Who?

"Whatever. Why are you back, we still don't have candy."

You peak around him into the house.

"Is Kanaya here?"

"No she's away on business."

"Oh…"

"Can you go away now? I'm up to my fucking head with chores she wants me to do while she's gone," he said waving a long piece of paper in your face.

"I can help!"

He snorts, amusement flickering behind his red eyes.

"That's a first. I've never know a kid who wanted to do chores."

You cross your arms stubbornly, and after a silent pause he nods.

"Fine. But just for a little bit kid."

"My name isn't kid."

"Well I could be calling you a little shit. You haven't exactly fucking divulged that little piece of decency known as a goddamn introduction."

You stare at him in amazement.

"You swear more than Bro does. And my name's Dave. Didn't you hear Nana call me that last year?"

Karkat snickers and mutters something under his breath about role models.

"No, it was irrelevant. Though I did expect you to come crawling back here."

You shove past him roughly to get into The House. It's Victorian styled and you marvel at it. Everything looks so _old_. He shuts the door and follows you in, leaning against the yellowing wallpaper.

"Where do you want to start?"

"I have a question first."

"What is it?" He replied gruffly, looking at the chore list with disdain.

"You're not human."

This catches his attention and he takes his time to reply.

"That's not exactly a fucking question."

"What are you, if you aren't a human?"

He acts like he has to think about it.

"Tell you what. Let's play a game. I'll give you half and hour to explore the house. If you can discover what me and Kanaya are by then, then I'll let you come back next year. If you dare. If you can't figure it out then you won't be able to find us next year. We'll either hide the house or move it."

"You can't move an entire house!"

"Twenty-nine minutes and forty seconds.

He raises a eyebrow in challenge at you. With a grumble you speed off, eager to discover his secret. You have your suspicions. You're pretty sure the fangs you thought were fake last year are actually real, and that narrows down your choices. Add in a good sense of smell, and you're left with two sensible answers. Werewolf, or vampire. The most reasonable place to find proof was the kitchen. You were bound to find dog kibble or blood.

You spent a good ten minutes wandering through the old house till you found the kitchen. It looked rarely used, and the countertops were dusty, as well as the stove top. It was quiet, except for the humming of a sleek metallic fridge. You steps towards it, filled with trepidation. This was the moment of truth. Or hopefully the moment of apple juice if you're wrong.

Steeling your nerve, you swiftly open the heavy door.

And there it was.

Dozens of packages were piled on top of each other, filled with dark red liquid. You picked one up, both disgusted and intrigued. It's cold in your small hands. So, this house was owned by vampires. This doesn't concern you as much as it probably should, despite the whole blood drinking thing. If Karkat or Kanaya had wanted to eat you they would've done it last year while you were alone with them. Plus they had a fridge filled to the brim with blood, why would they need yours?

With only a few minutes left to spare you make it back to the front room where Karkat awaits. You toss the package of blood at his feet and state, "Vampire."

Karkat stoops down to pick up the blood, making eye contact with you once he's at your height. With a small smirk he viciously tears into the blood bag. You know he's probably trying to scare you off on purpose, and you'd like to say you stood there fearlessly and watched. But you can't. Your face goes pale when his red eyes meet yours for a second time. Blood's dripping down his chin and onto the wooden floor. He looks terrifying.

You run faster than you ever have before that night. When you rejoin your friends they ask you why you look so scared. You tell them you don't feel good, and Mrs. Lalonde clicks her tongue, scolding you for eating too much candy.

You check for The House again a month later, once the memory of Karkat's face has been played so many times in your mind that it doesn't bother you anymore. It's not there.

0o0o0o0o0

One year later you find yourself back on the porch of the house on the hill. You don't know what keeps drawing you there, the fact that vampires live there should push you away. Maybe it's that insatiable curiosity about why they're here, and how come no one knows they exist. Or maybe it's because no matter how angry Karkat acts, he seems lonely.

The door opens, and you muster up enough courage to whisper, "Trick or treat."

Karkat rolls his eyes and shoves a candy bar in your hands.

0o0o0o0o0

"So this house is like a pocket dimension? In between your world and the human world?"

"You could say that."

Kanya has a pleased smile on her face, proud that you're catching on so fast. The two vampires and you are sitting in the living room, and because the furniture is so dusty, you find yourself sneezing just about every five seconds.

"We fled the Demon Realms a few years ago. Two of the most prominent demon races are at war, and we escaped because-"

"We didn't want to fucking fight, unlike all those brainless idiots back home."

Kanaya gives Karkat a strange look, and in return he shoots her a sharp glare. Huh.

"Karkat," you drawl. "What are you trying to hide?"

"Nothing a kid like you needs to know," he growls.

You slide the aviators John gave you a few years ago down your nose, so he can see your eyes. They are not amused.

"I'm not a little kid anymore Kar, I'm fifteen. Stop fuckin' treating me like one."

Your reprimand is punctuated with a sneeze, which makes Karkat snigger and Kanaya chuckle.

"I'm centuries older than you. You're a kid."

You scoff, and readjust your thrown ascue glasses.

"I'm taller, and more mature. Maybe you're the kid here," you say casually, not bothering to hide a smirk.

"Don't be a dick, Strider. You use to be miniscule."

Kanaya shakes her head fondly and gets off of her over stuffed armchair.

"It is almost midnight, Dave. You should start heading home."

"Damn, time flies."

"Hurry up and leave, I'm done playing teacher."

Karkat says this with a small smile and adds, ducking his head, "Also I don't want you getting stuck when the veil between here and Earth solidifies."

"Oh fuck Karkat, stop looking like a goddamn japanese school girl, I might break out in doki dokis and kawaii's."

The vampire shoots to his feet and starts pushing you towards the front room, where Kanaya waits with the door open.

"You've overstayed your welcome asshole."

You laugh as he pushes you out onto the porch, but abruptly stop as you collide with something.

No, someone.

There's a man standing there who looks around Karkat's age, a year or two older than you, and quickly assume he's a vampire too. The pale skin and sharp teeth are no coincidence.

Karkat takes your arm and jerks you back, and steps in front of you. He's tense, and you peer curiously around him at the visitor. Kanaya steps out of the house and gives the man a stiff nod.

"Hello Gamzee."

Gamzee is taller than Kanaya by a few inches, and you can't help but be impressed that despite that she seems more intimidating.

"Hey sis and," he steps around Kanaya to stare down at Karkat with a large smile, "my Prince."

"How'd you get here? The barriers are down for Earth right now, not The Demon Realm."

The taller vampire doesn't answer him, and starts sniffing the air.

"Brother, I smell a human. Did you give up your bagged shit for the real thing?"

"Fuck off."

"Or is that who this is?"

His eyes catch yours, a dark hypnotic purple.

"Gamzee leave the poor dear alone, he has to go home."

Karkat inches past him, dragging you along behind him. He takes you halfway down the hill, before stopping. You follow his gaze back up to the house, where you see Kanaya beckoning Gamzee into The House.

"If you ever see him in your realm, steer clear."

"Why? And why did he call you 'my prince'?"

Karkat looks a little lost, and after checking your watch and determining you can stay a little longer, you lead him over to a gnarled tree. You sit under it, and pull Karkat down next to you.

He begins hesitantly.

"In my Realm our world is divided in two. You're either on the side of light, or darkness. Both sides have a royal family, and my parents are the rulers of the good side. We want to keep the realms separate to prevent war across dimensions. We also don't kill when we feed. The side of darkness want to break through all the barriers we know about, and claim other dimensions as their feeding grounds. Gamzee was a childhood friend of mine, but in the most recent skirmish against the darkness he switched sides. When that happened my parents deemed our world unsafe for me, and asked Kanaya to take me to a bubble dimension to keep me alive. Once they die they expect me to return, so the light can continue fighting."

"Jesus…"

The vampire's shoulders slump and he leans on you, head against your shoulder, and you lightly brush your fingers through his black hair. You've technically known Karkat for just seven days, but you've learned a lot about him in that small amount of time. He acts like an asshole, but he's really a huge softy, who has a completely unironic love for rom-com movies. When you were younger, Karkat would grumble when you tried to hug him, but now you know that he's not seriously complaining. He's affectionate in his own way.

"Dave. I'm serious about avoiding him. He's made it clear that he'll," his voice wavers, "kill _anything_ for a good meal. I don't want that fucking traitor to hurt you."

"Dude, it's okay, don't worry bout me. I probably won't ever see the bastard again, unless you plan on inviting him over next Halloween."

"I'd rather die," Karkats says, voice muffled by being buried in your shoulder.

The two of you stay there for a few moments in comfortable silence.

"SHIT, WHAT TIME IS IT."

You look down at your watch again and jump to your feet, knocking Karkat over.

"One minute to midnight. Sorry Karkat, I'll see you next year!"

"HURRY."

You bolt for the iron fence at the bottom of the hill, and barely make it out. It fades right before your eyes.

0o0o0o0o0

Things start to change after Halloween. You get a message on Pesterchum, and answer it without a second thought, thinking it's John.

CG: DAVE

TG: Dude, Bro's out this weekend you need to get your ass over here. i have some new beats you need to hear

CG: ….

TG: Oh shit not john

TG: uh

TG: how'd you get my handle

CG: ITS KARKAT

CG: YOU TOLD ME IT LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE

TG: wait seriously? I thought your bubble dimension didn't have wifi or some shit

CG: SOLLUX GOT IT WORKING SOME HOW

TG: oh, isn't he your nerd friend that helped you and kanaya get out of your dimension

CG: YEAH THATS THE ONE

You end up messaging Karkat everyday, and Kanaya too once she sets up a pesterchum account. Eventually you add them to a group memo with John, Jade, and Rose. Rose takes an instant shining to Kanaya, and even though Karkat butts heads with Jade every so often, they're friendly enough to each other.

Before you know it it's Halloween again, and you're kicking dead leaves out of your way on your way up to The House. It's a cloudy morning, and there's a biting chill that's making you shiver. You pull your letterman jacket closer, watching your breath mix with the fog surrounding you. As soon as you get to the base of the hill, you climb over the fence like you've been doing ever since you got too big to fit between the bars. You need to ask Kanaya to start leaving the fence open for you.

The fog starts to lift the closer you get to the House, and you see a form sitting on the porch steps. A few steps later you realize it's Karkat. His chin lifts off his fist and he scowls.

"Took you long enough fuckass."

"I missed you too Kar."

You smirk as he sniffs indignantly, and sidle up to him.

"Come on, I'm only an hour late. Bro held me up with a strife session. Don't be mad."

"I still don't get why you can't come here at midnight."

Karkat gets off the stairs and you follow him into The House.

"Humans need sleep, remember?" You explain as you shut the door behind you.

"You could sleep here!"

"Are there even any beds in this house?"

"Of fucking course there are. This use to be a human house before it got sucked into the bubble dimension, afterall."

"Maybe next year then."

"I'll come drag you out of your house if I have to."

"Chill bro. I'll be here at midnight."

You are lead into the living room, empty save for the furniture and a roaring fire in the fireplace.

"Kanaya away on business?"

Karkat looks sheepish.

"No, she just has other stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"I don't fucking know."

"Karkat."

The vampire grumbles, but you swear he'd be blushing if he could. Something clicks in your head and you smirk.

"Did you ask her if you could have some alone time with me? That's adorable."

"Shut the fuck up, I did not!"

"Bull."

You lazily place yourself on your favorite red couch, and calmly state, "It's cool though. I want you to myself right now, I've been sharing you a whole lot recently."

"You sound like a possessive piece of shit when you say that," Karkat replies, sitting down next to you.

You've been flirting with him all year, so saying that was really nothing new. His responses were often amusing, when he didn't completely shut you down. You'd come to terms with your feelings for the grumpy vampire ages ago, and it always irked you when he didn't take you seriously.

Someday, before you turn into an old fart, maybe he'll give you a chance.

"What's the plan for today, Netflix and chill?"

"What the fuck is Netflix?"

You snicker into your hand, as he looks at you as if you'd grown a second head.

"Nevermind."

Karkat shrugs in acceptance, and you suddenly realize that he's scooted closer to you. You wonder if he's noticed.

"Did you bring me any new movies?"

He looks hopeful and you have a sudden urge to gather him into your arms and hug him. How the fuck he manages that with the whole vampire deal going on is a mystery to you.

You quickly look away from him, and mutter that you left your bag near the door. He bounds out of the room, obviously eager to get at the rom-coms.

Jesus, you needed to get your shit together. You're in the presence of the most dangerous creature to grace Earth, _and you want to snuggle with him_. Among other things.

"You brought five of them this time? We won't finish them all today," says Karkat, cuing his return.

"I brought a few extra, so you had some when I'm not here."

The vampire starts mumbling to himself, trying to figure out which one he wants to watch first. You smile at his antics, patiently waiting. A noise catches your attention though, and from the look on Karkat's face he notices it too. His eyes are narrowed, and looking towards the living room entry way.

"I'll go check it out. Another cat might have snuck past the fence. Or who knows," you shoot him a teasing smile. "Maybe it's another kid."

"God, I fucking hope not," he mutters.

You leave your comfortable place on the couch and stride over to the front room. You open the door, expecting to have to chase down a feline so it doesn't die of starvation once the barriers close, but you're not expecting this.

It's Gamzee, but he's changed.

He has three long scars running along his face, and his once lazy aura now seems more dangerous and menacing.

"The motherfucking darkness gave me a mission."

"Should I go get-"

Gamzee's face splits into the most horrific smile you've seen, all sharp teeth and cruelty, and he cuts off your sentence.

"I was told to weaken the prince. Hurt him. Hurt his friends."

You open your mouth to shout for Karkat, but it it never makes it past your lips. Gamzee's hand shoots out to wrap around your throat, and you make a gurgling sound of pain. This was was not how you wanted to die. But you should have expected as much. This is what you get for consorting with vampires.

You watch in horror as Gamzee draws back his other hand, claws dull in the cloudy light.

Time slows.

His smile widens.

His hand pierces through your gut.

Searing pain.

Blackness.

0o0o0o0o0

"He doesn't have much time left."

Glowing red eyes flash furiously as the dark haired man growls.

"FUCKING DO SOMETHING THEN."

Kanaya hisses in irritation.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me. You _knew_ this would happen eventually, it was only a matter of when."

She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"If you want to save him, you know what to do. He might end up hating you."

Karkat nods, pushing a frustrated hand through his wild hair.

"I... I'd do anything to save him. I don't care if he hates me. I can't lose him yet."

Who's talking? You suppose it doesn't really matter, you just want to lose yourself in the blackness again. There's a warmth surrounding you, and an unimaginable pain in your stomach. On your stomach? Something whispers _no, through your stomach_ but the thought gets brushed aside as the pain intensifies. There's a horrible whining sound. Is someone else hurt? Or was that you?

A voice cuts through the darkness and pain, and you've never heard anything as filled with remorse as the two words you hear.

"I'm sorry."

Something warm pressed against your cheek, then your lips. An apology you think.

The warmth moves down, until it's on your neck. It's comforting, and you try to get closer to it. The cold around you is intensifying, and you crave it with every bone in your body.

Two sharp points against your neck, and you hear the whining noise again. Your warmth is suddenly transformed into a stinging pain. It's enough to push you into the darkness though, and so you don't mind.

The last thing you hear before your consciousness spirals away is, "You better fucking live, you prick."

0o0o0o0o0

Waking up was hard. There was a gentle lull dragging you into the darkness. It promised that the deeper you went, the less pain you'd feel. So you kept telling yourself, a little deeper. I can deal with the pain if i go a little deeper. You could tell the end of the darkness was near, and you had almost reached it when you felt a tug in the opposite direction. You wanted to tear yourself away, panicked by the thought of going away from the darkness. You didn't want that awful hurt to return, not ever.

The tug was insistent though. It was as if you were attached to a rope, and every once in awhile words would slide down it.

Wake.

Can't.

Please.

Need.

No.

Dave.

Need.

 _Need you._

Huh? Someone needed you? You were so reluctant to leave the darkness. Everything in your body told you to stay, and it was if you were made of lead. You felt yourself falter.

 _Dave._

A different voice.

You wrench yourself away, and turned your back on the darkness.

The pain returned.

But so did your consciousness.

The first thing that hits you is the hunger. You thought you were in pain before, but this feeling doubles it. You bolt straight up, and instantly feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Calm down Dave, you are safe. I know you are hungry, just wait until Karkat get's back."

Kanaya is speaking soothing words to you as you curl up. You feel like you're dying, and you'd do anything to make the pain go away.

"Oh shit he's awake already."

There's a crinkling noise and something drop in front of you face. It's a blood bag.

The thought of drinking blood is disgusting. That doesn't stop you from tearing open the package once you catch a whiff of it. It's thick and cold, but despite that it slides pleasantly down your throat. The pain begins to lessen, until it's a dull throb. Once you drain every ounce of blood from the bag you realize Karkat and Kanaya are staring at you.

Kanaya with sympathy.

Karkat with anguish.

"Do… Do I have something on my face?"

You thought that that comment would ease the tension a little, but Kanaya just gives you a small smile before excusing herself from the room, and Karkat's expression stays the same.

"...Karkat? I don't remember a lot of what happened."

He seems to snap out of it and sits on the edge of the bed you're on. Huh, this must be the legendary bed that Karkat was going to make you sleep on after kidnapping you from your house. You felt honored.

"Gamzee attacked you."

You have a sliver of a memory.

A sharp toothed grin.

Red liquid pooling around your body.

Karkat yelling.

"What a fuckass," you say, Karkat's signature word feeling strange in your mouth.

"I feel better though. But…"

You trail off, looking at the empty blood package. He nods solemnly.

"I'm like you now."

"I'm really fucking sorry okay? I just couldn't watch you die in front of me, and I know it was selfish but what was I supposed to do? Either way this is making my consciousness a living hell. But what were my choices? Giving you immortality, which means getting to see your human friends and family die, or just never let them see you again at all because of Gamzee and you'd be dea-"

You pull him into a hug, cutting him off mid rant.

"Stop worrying so much," you say into his hair. "You'll get wrinkles."

Karkat tries to pull away with an objective shout.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT? DON'T YOU GET WHAT I'VE FUCKING DONE TO YOU?"

"You've given me what I've wanted for years."

"Eternal damnation and suffering?"

"More time with you."

He makes a choking noise, and you start to pull away to see if he was okay. His eyes glisten and you realize he's trying not to sob.

"Kar, don't-"

He cuts you off by pulling you into a crushing kiss. He hastily pulls away, burying his head in your chest.

"I've only known you for a few days you fucking asshole, how'd you make me fall for you so quickly? Maybe I'm the real fuckass…"

"Well, you have an eternity to discover how much of a douche I am. But until then, I'm yours. I'm not going anywhere."

"But your family…"

His breathing gets ragged, and at that moment you feel more sympathy for him than yourself. He's beating himself up over this.

"Really Karkat, everything'll be fine. I'll just tell Bro, and he'll understand."

"About that… You'll have to wait until next year."

"What… Oh no. What time is i-?"

"You've been out for two days."

"Well shit."

0o0o0o0o0

The following year passes quickly. It was full of Karkat and you, and you and Karkat. And did you mention Karkat? It was good and you enjoyed being with him. But you were eager to go home, just for a visit.

The minute the clocks within the House strike midnight, you bolt all the way to your apartment. You explain everything to Bro and although he's pissed at you for vanishing for a year, he soon forgives you after making sure your fangs are real. Not a pleasant process.

You're not exactly sure what he told the others, but hopefully it was enough to keep them away from the bubble dimension. It's not safe for humans.

That hope was dashed a year later, when three young adults you knew well, showed up on the House's porch.

"Trick or treat!"

A few Halloweens later you, Karkat, and Kanaya were joined by Rose.

You can honestly say that the stupidest thing you've ever done was return to the bubble dimension after discovering what inhabited it. People say curiosity killed the cat, and they were fucking right about that. But even though one stupid decision led to your death, and resurrection, you didn't regret a thing.

After all, what else did you expect from consorting with vampires?


End file.
